When Evan Ferguson arrived in Serie A on loan from Brighton in 2025, hopes were high on all sides that the striker would become the greatest Irishman in Italy since Liam Brady. The young forward had scored 13 Premier League goals in 68 games before arriving in the Eternal City and had a steady – if unimpressive – goalscoring record for his country.
For a 20-year-old, this all pointed towards great potential. Ignoring his poor loan spell with West Ham, who have proven to be on a downward spiral for some time, Roma were getting a proven striker who was barely out of his teens. An impressive pre-season debut seemed to reinforce this belief, with Ferguson scoring four and assisting one against UniPomezia of Serie D.
Since then, though, things appear to have been choppy at best for the young Irishman. Poor runs of form, long spells on the bench, and untimely injuries have left many wondering: was Evan Ferguson ever the man for Roma?
A Striker Hitting Pockets of Form in Fits and Starts
Now 21, it is safe to say that Ferguson has struggled to consistently score goals for some time now. It seems unusual to say for a player still eligible for underage sides, but this is a player who made his domestic league debut at 15. At the time of writing, the striker has three goals in 16 Serie A appearances, with a further two in six in the Europa League.
That adds to the young man’s woes. Prior to joining, the 2024/25 season saw just one goal in 21, and the season before had fizzled out in the wake of injuries. This poor run of form and injuries now sees Roma sitting at +65.00 football odds to win Serie A, despite a strong start. Obviously, this isn’t all Evan’s fault, but it further displays his lack of consistency.
Gian Piero Gasperini has spoken often about how he does not think that the Ireland striker is the right player for Roma at this moment. When his side fell to Juventus in December of last year, the veteran manager claimed that he was “not convinced” by the forward. Following that game, Ferguson would go on to score two in the next three, showing the patchiness of his form.
A January Spent Flirting with an Exit from Rome
All of that culminated in a January transfer window in which many believed Roma would jettison their failed project, with it already looking unlikely that they will trigger the €40 million permanent clause in the summer. However, despite batting their eyelashes at the likes of Joshua Zhirkzee, only Donyell Mallen would arrive as an established name, joining from Aston Villa on loan.
With no new talismanic striker added to the books, the former Bohemians man was kept on, perhaps unexpectedly for many. It now leaves both club and player in an awkward position. For the striker, he needs to start scoring goals regularly to impress his manager and perhaps force his way back into contention in Brighton or into the shop window for the next window.
For the club, it leaves them with a decision to make. Gasperini is clearly not a fan, and it is likely that this will go down as something of a white elephant transfer – or perhaps, more accurately, a damp squib. The bench is likely to be warmed for the remaining games, especially if the injury takes a short while to recover from. It ultimately appears to have been a failure.
Could Roma Have Predicted This Outcome?
Ferguson has been out of form for a significant period now, but it is difficult to say that this was a poor move by Roma chiefs. The young man was the talk of European football and talk of big moves to Manchester United was not just headline fodder. He is a hungry, powerful striker, but is simply in a bad period.
Whether or not he was the right choice for Roma, time will tell. If Roma endure a trophyless season and fall from the Champions League race, it will be easy to point the finger at this one transfer. However, should the striker come back and fire them to qualification for Europe’s top table, he may just justify the hype after all.